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International audience; This study investigates the influence of business owner experience (management/start-up) and professional networking on start-up export intensity. In addition, we assume networking to mediate the experience – export intensity relationship. Flemish start-ups form this study's empirical setting. Our results indicate that start-up export intensity is directly driven by professional networking. Management experience is a positive antecedent of networking while start-up experience is negatively related to professional networking. All in all, management and start-up experience connect only indirectly to export intensity, fully mediated by networking. Implications and opportunities for future research are suggested.

International audience; This study investigates patterns of movement from self-employment to wage employment or to unemployment in Belgium. Non-parametric techniques and complimentary log–log analyses are used to determine the significance of stable individual traits (e.g. gender) and of time-dependent characteristics (e.g. family and organizational context, labour market mobility) in moving back to wage employment or to unemployment. Evidence is provided on the possibility of entrepreneurship acting as a ‘steppingstone’ between long-term unemployment and paid work. Yet, significant relationships also emerge between ex-ante time spent in unemployment and the possibility of continued unemployment upon self-employment exit.

nrpages: 26 status: published

Deze beleidspaper gebruikt data van startende ondernemingen tussen 2001 en 2009 om te onderzoeken welke factoren bijdragen tot ondernemingsgroei. Groei wordt hierbij gedefinieerd als gemiddelde tewerkstellingsgroei per jaar. De wet van ‘Gibrat’, die stelt dat groei en grootte van een onderneming onafhankelijk zijn, wordt verworpen. Er bestaat namelijk een negatieve correlatie tussen beiden, consistent met de recente literatuur over ondernemingsgroei. We onderscheiden vier clusters van factoren ter verklaring van ondernemingsgroei: (i) financieel kapitaal, (ii) menselijk kapitaal, (iii) sociaal kapitaal en (iv) management systemen. Ten slotte bekijken we ook de rol van internationalisering. We vinden dat sociaal kapitaal geen impact heeft op de ondernemingsgroei van jonge starters en financieel kapitaal heeft slechts een matige impact. Daarentegen, menselijk kapitaal en het gebruik van management systemen in de onderneming dragen sterk bij tot de groei van starters. Een toename van het eigen vermogen bij de opstartfinanciering met 10 % leidt tot een stijging van de groei met 0,7%. Het opleidingsniveau van de leidinggevende is eveneens positief gecorreleerd. De groeipremie van een hoger diploma op universitair niveau bij de leidinggevende bedraagt zo’n 5 %. De determinanten van het sociaal kapitaal die onderzocht worden zijn ‘bonding’, ‘bridging’ en het afkomstig zijn uit een ondernemersfamilie. Bonding en bridging kijkt naar de mate waarmee de leidinggevende gebruik maakt van een netwerk van mensen om materiële voordelen zoals financiering of immateriële voordelen zoals informatie te verkrijgen. Bij ‘bonding’ gaat het om netwerken die gelijkaardige mensen samenbrengen (zoals familieleden). Bij ‘bridging’ daarentegen gaat het om een netwerk die verschillende soorten mensen samenbrengt (zoals een serviceclub). Alle drie de variabelen die sociaal kapitaal meten zijn niet statistisch significant. Met betrekking tot het implementeren van goede managementpraktijken vinden we dat de afwezigheid van een ondernemingsplan leidt tot een gemiddelde daling van de jaarlijkse groei met 5%. Hoe uitgebreider de HR-procedures, hoe hoger de groei. Een uitbreiding van deze procedures met 1 niveau (met een schaal die gaat tot 12) verhoogt de groei met 1,4%. Startende ondernemingen die exporteren, hebben een groei die zo’n 6% hoger is. ispartof: Beleidsrapport STORE-B-12-008 pages:1-22 status: published

This study investigates the influence of business owner human and social capital on start-up export intensity. In addition, building on the knowledge-based view of the firm, we assume the relationships between owner characteristics and firm export activities to be moderated by the start-up’s absorptive capacity, which designates its ability to acquire, assimilate and exploit new information. Flemish start-ups form this study’s empirical setting. Our results indicate that start-up export intensity is (1) driven by the business owner’s formal education and start-up experience, while (2) weakened by his/her accumulated management experience. Furthermore, we find evidence that start-up absorptive capacity significantly moderates the export impact of the owner’s human capital. Finally, implications and opportunities for future research are suggested. ispartof: VIVES discussion paper, 2012/32 pages:1-32 status: published

This study investigates the influence of a business owner's human and social capital on the starting venture's export activities. We examine general human capital, in terms of formal education and management experience, specific human capital, in terms of industry and start-up experience, and bonding and bridging social capital. Furthermore, building on the knowledge based view of the firm, we assume the relationships between the owner's characteristics and the firm's export activities to be moderated by the organization's ability to acquire, assimilate, and exploit external knowledge - its absorptive capacity. Flemish start-ups form this study's empirical setting. Our results indicate that a start-up's export activities (1) are driven by the business owner's formal education and start-up experience, and (2) are hampered by his or her management experience and bonding social capital. Moreover, the organization's absorptive capacity appears to excavate the direct effect of any experience-related human capital variable (e.g. management, industry, start-up). Implicatoins and opportunities for future research are suggested. ispartof: pages:429-443 ispartof: Proceedings of the 8th International AGSE Entrepreneurship Research Exchange pages:429-443 ispartof: International AGSE Entrepreneurship Research Exchange (Swinburne University) location:Melbourne (Australia) date:1 Feb - 4 Feb 2011 status: published

This paper examines demographic and career related determinants of the probability of self-employment survival and exit, separately for prior unemployed and prior employed individuals. Using data from a longitudinal panel of Belgian men and women for the period 1998 Q2 - 2007 Q4, we estimate discrete single and competing risks models. Our results indicate that 48% of the prior unemployed exit self-employment before the end of data collection, compared to 36% of the prior employed. Furthermore, we find that depending on the interest group different variables are strong predictors of self-employment tenure. Additionally, evidence is provided on the conditional probability of leaving self-employment for employment, unemployment and partial self-employment. ispartof: pages:771-785 ispartof: Proceedings of the 8th International AGSE Entrepreneurship Research Exchange pages:771-785 ispartof: International AGSE Entrepreneurship Research Exchange (Swinburne University) location:Melbourne (Australia) date:1 Feb - 4 Feb 2011 status: published

Conference paper: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/lib/ir/onlineconferences/agse2010/000066.pdf ispartof: pages:277-291 ispartof: Proceedings of the 7th International AGSE Entrepreneurship Research Exchange (CD-rom) pages:277-291 ispartof: 7th AGSE International Entrepreneurship Research Exchange location:Queensland (Australia) date:2 Feb - 5 Feb 2010 status: published

We use the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to detect gender effects in the variables that shape entrepreneurial intentions. We find that the effect of gender on intentions is mediated via personal attitudes toward entrepreneurship and more so via perceived control over becoming an entrepreneur. These mediation effects at factorial level can be explained by moderation effects at indicator level. Where male students are driven by the more dominant achievement-oriented entrepreneurial values, female students are more driven by the less dominant balance-oriented entrepreneurial values. Where male students are driven by both internal and external feelings of control, female students are driven by the more dominant internal feelings of control. This study adds to the research that studies entrepreneurial intentions and clarifies how different entrepreneurial definitions for men and women may drive entrepreneurial behavior. ispartof: Working paper Steunpunt Ondernemen en Internationaal Ondernemen nrpages: 29 status: published